On the go and no time to finish that story right now? Your News is the place for you to save content to read later from any device. Register with us and content you save will appear here so you can access them to read later.

Jane Shennan is on a mission to tell the story of her great-grandfather — a prominent figure in Otago's early pastoral history.

Shennan, who lives in Australia, is visiting Otago to gather information for the biography of Watson Shennan, whose name is synonymous with the large runs of Galloway, Moutere and Puketoi and merino sheep.

Born in Galloway, Scotland, Mr Shennan arrived in Otago with his brother Alexander in 1857.

They scraped together enough money to buy horses and rode over the hills into Central Otago in search of land to run sheep on.

Matangi Station, near Alexandra, farmed by the Sanders family, was originally part of Galloway Station and the sheep on the property could be traced back to those first merinos imported by the Shennan brothers.

It was established with the purchase of sheep from the dispersal of the Puketoi stud.